Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. 1 Peter 1:16
Be ye Holy for I am Holy the Lord says to us
We cannot be Holy on our own
To try to be Holy trying to bypass the blood of Christ
is an insult to what He has done
Don’t even try
Forget about it
Our flesh is mortal and wretched
There is no way to impress God in our flesh
Without Him we can do nothing and our righteousness is as filthy rags
I am the vine, ye are the branches:
He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit:
for without me ye can do nothing. John 15:5
You want to please God?
You want to walk in Holiness?
Relinquish your sin to Him
and realize that you cannot pay God back for what He has done
You cannot make God proud without His cleansing
It’s so easy to think we can do things for God to be better,
to obtain holiness, not the case, Jesus has to do the cleansing:
Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet.
Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. John 13:8
So Jesus decides what is Holy and what is not
Just like in the Old Testament,
the priests had their rules and methods of cleansing
before they were able to enter the Tabernacle of the Lord,
so we have purification processes we must allow before we are cleansed
We know about asking for forgiveness, repenting, obedience,
believing, walking in faith, taking communion,
and other ways that we commit our lives to Jesus
that lead to sanctification
God desires obedience rather than sacrifice
And Samuel said,
Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to hearken than the fat of rams. 1 Samuel 15:22
Remember the Rich Young Ruler
and how he assured Jesus that he had kept all the commandments?
Jesus cut to the quick, but one thing you lack…
Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him,
One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast,
and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven:
and come, take up the cross, and follow me. John 10:21
Or the Pharisee who thought of himself as so great
and named all the glorious things he did?
The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself,
God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are,
extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. Luke 18:11-12
God was not impressed
He wanted something more from each one of them:
For all those things hath mine hand made,
and all those things have been, saith the Lord:
but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit
and trembleth at my word. Isaiah 66:2
It is crucial that each of us seek the Lord
and find out what He wants,
and seek Him often
We will have to stand before Jesus
and answer for how we spent each moment here on earth
The sooner we ask Him and know the answer,
the sooner we can correct our ways if they’re not pleasing to Him,
and thus be on the road to true holiness,
which our human minds cannot understand until He shows us
Scriptural References:
But we are all as an unclean thing,
and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;
and we all do fade as a leaf;
and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Isaiah 64:6
And when he was gone forth into the way,
there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him,
Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good?
there is none good but one, that is, God.
Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery,
Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not,
Honour thy father and mother.
And he answered and said unto him,
Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him,
One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast,
and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven:
and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved:
for he had great possessions.
Mark 10:17-22